FANTASTIC DUBAI!

I have been invited to Dubai many times.  Every chain hotel of substance has built behemoths there, expecting the millions of visitors and $$$$ that this planned city could host.

 “A glorified Las Vegas”,  “Miami Beach on steroids”  “an over the top playground for Arabian royalty”......I had heard it all!   But what I found was an amazing surprise.

Yes I was expecting the worst.  The city of Dubai had been “sand blasted” out of the Arabian Desert as a shopper’s paradise for people from all over the world. 

Once just a small city on the Persian Gulf, Dubai is one of 7 Emirates (or states) of the United Arab Emirates.   Each of these is governed by an Emir who is part of the Royal Family.  Each son or family member inherits his Emirate, and then passes it down to another relative upon his passing.  The family’s wealth comes, of course, from oil......and there is plenty of it flowing in the Arabian Desert.

The Dubai International Airport is perhaps the largest airport I have ever been in...and I have been in many, many airports.  After passing hundreds of Palm trees, glass walkways, waterfalls, flying mobiles, and numerous escalators, I cleared customs with hardly a glance at my passport and was out the door to my waiting car.

At the Armani Hotel, there were Maserati’s, Jags, Rolls, Lamborghinis, oh and a few Mercedes like the one I arrived in.  This hotel sits at the base of the tallest building in the world.  Burj Kalifa is only 163 stories high + a 46 floor spire. Burj encompasses the hotel, a shopping mall with 1000 stores, apartments, offices and a tourist attraction 120 stories up called At The Top, where there is a viewing platform.

Outside are dancing waters – al la Bellagio in Vegas- more hotels and apartments and further down the road, the world’s only indoor ski slope in another Mall that also has too many shops to see in a week.

Shopping and hotels aside, Dubai has one of the most fantastic skylines in the world.  There is a historic center, filled with gold souks, food stalls and much more, but why go there with so much else to see?  Everywhere there are building cranes adding to the landscape.   Out in the water, huge barges suck up sand from the bottom of the sea to make new islands to build resorts and homes on. Sand blasted islands shaped like palm trees and now a map of the world sprouting up as are neighborhoods with mansions on every planned street.  Beautiful golf courses and green spaces are kept that way by a huge desalinization plant that supplies water to the city and its people. 

Many desert excursions are available to see what the Arabian Peninsula is really like..... prior to fabulous skyscrapers.  Dune buggies or a camel, the choice of the excursion is yours.  The Emir of Dubai has also planned International Festivals and World Cup horse races to bring more visitors to his Emirate.

I only scratched the surface during my short stay.  I don’t want to miss what comes next!